Sun, 17 Sep 2017 08:24:27 +0000
By GRACE CHAILE LESOETSA
PETAUKE Day secondary school from Eastern province has scooped the 2017 COPA Coca-Cola Schools national championship following a hard-fought 2-1 win over Lusaka’s Mwavi secondary school in the final played at National Heroes Stadium yesterday.
The Eastern province representatives pocketed K15, 000 while the runners-up walked away with K10, 000.
Meanwhile, Copperbelt representatives Sekela secondary school finished third in the competition and got K7, 500 after they beat Ituna secondary school from Northern Province 3-2 in a tightly contested match.
Sekela, who had lost to Petauke 2-1 in the semi-finals, were given a chance to compete for third and fourth place after Chibombo secondary school of Central province were disqualified from the competition for using an illegible player. Chibombo had gone through to the final after a 3-1 victory over Mwavi.
Zambia Secondary Schools Sports Association (ZSSSA) football co-ordinator Christopher Sakapumba explained that Mwavi petitioned Chibombo’s use of a player who had already completed school.
“After investigations by ZSSSA disciplinary committee, it was confirmed that Chibombo used an illegible player and the team was disqualified. The committee then awarded Mwavi a spot in the final based on their good performance in the previous matches,” he said.
Sports minister Moses Mawere commended Coca Cola company for giving the young boys a platform to expose their talent.
“We have seen great talent from all over the country and thanks to Coca Cola for investing in young talent. From these boys, there is hope of a future national team if talent is nurtured well,” he said.
The final was watched by under-17 national team coach Mumamba Numba and his assistant Charles Bwale.
The 2017 COPA Coca-Cola Schools national championship has remained a backbone for the under-17 national team.
Other teams that participated in the tournament included Chinsali secondary (Muchinga province), Kambule secondary (Western), Mansa secondary (Luapula), Monze Boarding (Southern Province) and Chavuma (North-Western Province)
